The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to imaging systems and techniques, and more particularly to imaging for both quantitation and visualization.
In certain types of imaging devices, such as positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, arrays of detector elements are used to detect radiation emanating from the patient. In a PET scanner, for example, arrays of scintillator crystals may be used to detect annihilation photons which are generated inside the patient. The annihilation photons are produced when a positron emitted from a radiopharmaceutical injected into the patient collides with an electron causing an annihilation event. The scintillator crystals receive the annihilation photons and generate light photons in response to the annihilation photons, with the light photons emitted to a photosensor configured to convert the light energy from the light photons to electrical energy used to reconstruct an image.
Various algorithms may be used to reconstruct an image using information acquired during an imaging process. Images may be used, for example, for quantitation, and as another example, for display and/or detection. It may be difficult to optimize a single image reconstruction algorithm for multiple objectives including quantitation accuracy, detection, and visual image quality. An image reconstruction algorithm configured for quantitation may not provide desired results for display or detection, and vice versa. For example, a given image may provide accurate quantitation; however, the image may provide visual image quality that suffers from one or more issues, such as an unnatural appearance and/or increased false positives adversely affecting detection.